Southern Gardening

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

There are two things gardeners can't get enough of, besides plants: You can't have too many pruning shears or gardening books. A good book on gardening or plants may be the easiest and best gift for the gardener on your list.

My favorite book on perennials is Perennial Garden Color by Dr. William C. Welch. It is available from Taylor Publishing. This is one the most informative, beautiful and interesting books on perennials.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This is the time of the year when many landscapes look rather barren and ineffective without evergreens. Even before a hard freeze, the dormant grass and defoliated trees bring a different look to the landscape.

Evergreens, which should serve as our backdrop for annuals and perennials the rest of the year, are important in a good winter landscape. Evergreens include more than just conifers.

By Norman Winter,
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The big push for the ideal Christmas gift has begun and for gardeners the wish list can be quite extensive. It's not a tie, flannel pajamas or fuzzy slippers but something for the horticultural spirit.

For those who are tired of trying to protect plants in the winter, a hobby greenhouse is an easy and timely solution. Greenhouse gardening will soon become a passion instead of a hobby.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Despite droughty, warm conditions this October, fall leaf colors have been very good. This brings up the question of what makes fall color good.

Start with a good species. The trees that have been most spectacular in my neighborhood are the hickories. Hickories, have bold, yellow leaves that hold for a long time.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Many gardeners, myself included, grab hold of the idea that bigger is always better, not only from the size of our flowerbeds, but to the actual size of the flowers. Sometimes, however, a large number of smaller flowers make a bigger show than a few large blooms.

One flower that gets overlooked because of its diminutive size is the Viola, or Johnny Jump-up. Find these at garden centers now ready for planting just down the aisle from pansies.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Azalea lovers should rejoice over some new varieties that have made their way to our state. Many gardeners don't realize that Mississippi has some of the most progressive and innovative tree, shrub and bedding plant producers from the Gulf Coast to the far north.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Brookhaven, Miss. is known far and wide as home to great camellias and to highly respected camellia gardeners, but on a recent trip, it was not the camellias that caught my attention but Japanese Maples.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The Hyacinth Bean tunnel was a big crowd pleaser again this year as thousands of garden-loving Mississippians walked through it at the Fall Garden Day. This event was held Oct. 16 and 17 in Crystal Spring at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station.

The Fall Garden Day has acres of the latest garden vegetables, herbs and flowers, but what gets the most acclaim is a plant Thomas Jefferson grew in his garden and has been around forever.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Pansies and chrysanthemums may capture the lion's share of the garden market this time of the year, but there are other selections we need to include in our fall and winter landscape.

The first is the flowering kale and cabbage. These ornamentals endure fall and winter with months of color. They are called flowering or ornamental because of the richly colored floral-like foliage. Inner leaves may be red, white, rose or pink against darker green outside leaves.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As the first cold front arrives in Mississippi, we face an ideal time to repot houseplants and get them ready to spend the cooler season indoors.

First, check to see if your plants need to be repotted. Water the plant well so that the soil sticks together. Knock the plant gently out of the pot and inspect the root system. If you have a really tight root ball, you may need to repot to the next size container.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Since Washington scandals and hurricanes have been dominating the newspapers, I feel compelled to write about Naked Ladies and Hurricane Lilies.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you have noticed beautiful yellow candelabra type blossoms around your neighborhood, probably a candlestick plant is blooming close to your house.

It is considered a shrub in the tropics, yet growing wild they are dwarf compared to how they look in our landscapes. This is probably due to shallow topsoil in their native islands.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gourds are much-overlooked fall garden products with a wide variety of uses.

At first, gourds may conjure dull or negative thoughts. If you called someone a gourd, it might mean they were a nerd or less intelligent. Yet in reality, a gourd can become a banjo, a dipper for refreshing water, a sponge for a luxurious bath, an herb planter, a purple martin home or an awesome holiday table decoration. What an assortment of uses!

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Few people recognize the name, Tradescantia, but most people recognize the specific plant names Wandering Jew,.Moses-in-the-Cradle, Three-Men-in-the-Boat, Moses-in-the-Bulrushes, Spiderwort and Purple Heart, which are all Tradescantia.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Next to the leaf of the palm, the leaves of the banana tree are perhaps the most decorative for lending a touch of the tropics to our backyard.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

When the heat and humidity have taken their toll on our psyche and our gardens, we start thinking about how nice an early freeze in mid-September would be. But just about this same time each year Mother Nature shows us her beauty.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Even though the dog days of summer make many of us cast a wishful eye toward the Arctic for relief, late summer is also when gingers really strut their stuff.

Scads of books will tell you that ginger can only be grown in coastal areas which have the mildest winters. Yet as I travel through Mississippi and other Southern states, it is definitely clear that much of Zone 7 and 8 can grow gingers with the best of those gardeners in Zone 9.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The bright orange-red fruit on the roses mystified gardeners at last year's Fall Field Day at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs. Since most gardeners have opted for hybrid teas, they have never seen anything but flowers on roses. While peaches, plums, apricots, apples and blackberries are all from the rose family, we hardly consider the fruit of the rose itself.

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Three-foot tall Country Girl chrysanthemums, six-foot tall Indigo Spire salvias and five-foot Mexican bush sages should have been pretty awesome for my garden last year. Unfortunately, there was not a single bloom despite all the lush green foliage. The blooms were practically nonexistent on my goldenrods and Joe Pye weeds, too!

By Norman Winter
Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A recent, almost unbearable hot trip to the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs reminded me how pretty the various plantings of liriope were. When I got home, I realized in my everyday rush I hadn't noticed the gorgeous flower spikes in my own yard.